Spotlight Philippines is an informative blog about everything Filipino - music, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, science, technology, politics, religion, business, history, and local and worldwide news about the nation. It seeks to re-echo current events in and out of the Philippines.

International boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO) will once again be fighting with Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO) in the arch-rivals' 4th and (hopefully) final boxing match in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday (December 8).

Watch the Pacquiao-Marquez 4 fight on local TV through Solar Sports. You may also watch Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez fight live online through Xoom's pay-per-view.

In its press release,

The Pacquiao-Marquez bout will take place on Saturday, December 8, as they meet for the fourth time in Las Vegas. New Xoom customers who send a money transfer to the Philippines will receive a $60 Visa® Reward Card (the cost of the fight in SD; taxes may be extra). The upcoming Pacquiao-Marquez fight will be just the 13th time in boxing history that opponents have faced one another four or more times.

“The Pacquiao-Marquez matchup has become one of boxing’s most prevalent rivalries of the past decade,” says Julian King, Xoom’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development. “Xoom is proud that fans can get the chance to watch this upcoming fight for free--and discover how convenient, safe and fast it is to send money home with Xoom.”

Customers must visit the website to make their first money transfer to the Philippines from November 26 through December 8, 2012. Then, order the Pacquiao-Marquez 4 fight from their television service provider, receive a reward code via email, redeem the code from December 9 -13, 2012, and receive the $60 Visa Reward Card to reimburse customers the cost of the fight. Terms and conditions apply.

Some other live stream links of the Pacquiao vs Marquez fight 4 may be placed here, so keep visiting this website for updates or follow the blog on Facebook or Google.

In another news, looks like Pacquiao will receive anew for his purse almost 1 billion pesos or more in assured earnings from his Saturday (US time) title-defending match with Marquez.

It's been reported on Yahoo! News and elsewhere that, not considering his HBO pay-per-view income, he is guaranteed a paycheck of $23 million or approximately P943 million. That's a huge amount!! Now, add to that what he'll earn from the pay-per-view subscription of international boxing fans!

Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Pacquiao, after the match, would be getting between $28 million (P1.1 billion) to $30 million (P1.2 billion). His winning in his fight with Marquez, which is expected mostly by Filipinos everywhere in the world, will definitely boost the morale and help Pablo victims get on with life.

According to Forbes, Pacquiao is among the highest-paid athletes in the world. For the June 2011-2012 period, he earned $56 million in purses and $6 million in endorsements landing at second place in the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes, sitting next to another international boxing superfighter Floyd Mayweather with $85 million in earnings.

One cannot deny Pacquiao is bearing the fruits of his hard labor and unbeatable discipline. He's still flying high in his boxing career.

Friday, December 7, 2012

It's one hell of a treat for stargazers out there, especially those in the provinces - of course, considering we have favorable weather around. The annual Geminids meteor shower will reach its peak on the night of December 13 to dawn of December 14, so camp out and watch the sky be filled with these "falling stars".

"The annual Geminids meteor shower will reach its peak in the night of December 13-14. Under a dark and cloudless sky just after midnight of its peak activity, meteors or 'falling stars' can be seen at an average rate of forty meteors per hour. The shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Gemini, the Twin," PAGASA admin Nathaniel Servando said on Yahoo!

As many as 40 meteors may be visibly seen after midnight of December 13! It will definitely be a wonderful night to remember!

In another related space news, the winter solstice, which signals the time when the Sun is at its farthest point south of the equator and when winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere while summer starts in the Southern Hemisphere, will happen on Friday, December 21, 2012.

Monday, December 3, 2012

On December 8, Saturday, another pet-related event will take place, this time, in Quezon City. Dubbed as the Hamster Pet Show and Exhibit, a first ever in the Philippines, it will be a hamster competition which will be conducted at Jackman Plaza, Munoz, QC.

The event proper will commence at 4 PM and end at 6 PM; however, a CHOP-HLO (Circle of Hamster Owners in the Philippines, Hamster Lovers Organization) exhibit of hamsters may be viewed at the venue starting at 10 AM.

During the 4 to 6 PM time slot, anyone can join the raffle for 10 Php per raffle entry only. More entries, more chances of winning!

There will be no entrance fee to the said event, and to those who will be bringing with them their hamsters as show entries, there will be NOa registration fee as well.

For the revised mechanics of the hamster pet show, proceed here. Awards to be given away include Best in Show and Best of Breed. Other special and minor awards are at stake, including Darling of the Crowd (People's Choice), Heaviest Hamster, and Best Pattern. Registration for entry to the hamster pet show starts at 1 PM and ends at 3 PM.

The two other shows set to happen in the same venue will be the 2nd Hedgehog Fun Show (spearheaded by the Philippine Exotic Hedgehog Society Inc., PEHSI) which will run from 10 to 12 noon, which will then be followed by the National Guinea Pig Show (conducted by the Philippine Cavy Fanciers Inc., PCFI) from 1 to 4 PM. The Hamster Pet Show takes place last, from 4 to 6 PM.

Pet exhibits will be on view from 10 AM to 7 PM at the Jackman Plaza, Munoz, QC.

The Spotlight Philippines blog admins are, once again, glad to take part in these budding events. Jackman Plaza, any time, Saturday (December 8)! Hope to see you guys there!

Here is an infopic of emergency hotlines, evacuation center and social media links which could help before and durig entry of super typhoon Pablo. Storm signal no. 2 has now been raised over Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental.

Although super typhoon Pablo has weakened as it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), it still packed strong winds with 175 kph max and gustiness of 210 kph - no ordinary storm. Do keep update on current happenings by following this blog, visiting news websites, or watching news programs on TV.

Class suspensions might be announced by the local government units in the areas hit so keep information flowing.

On Sunday (December 2), super typhoon Pablo accelerated as it led s way to the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) with storm signal no. 1 being raised in over 18 provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The PAGASA revealed it will likely hit the northern part of Mindanao and the Visayas when it moves on its track. On Tuesday, it will likely make landfall over Surigao City.

(Updated 8:00 AM) Storm signal no. 1 (where 45-60 kph winds will be experienced in the next 36 hours) was hoisted in these areas:

Visayas:

Bohol

Biliran

Camotes Island

Southern Leyte

Leyte

Eastern Samar

Western Samar

Mindanao:

Surigao del Sur

Surigao del Norte including Siargao Island

Dinagat Islands

Agusan del Norte

Agusan del Sur

Davao Oriental

Davao del Norte including Samal Islands

Compostela Valley

Bukidnon

Misamis Oriental

Camiguin

As per Executive Order 66 on the new rules regarding class suspensions, classes at the pre-school level in areas under PSWS No. 1 are automatically suspended or cancelled.

When Signal No. 2 is raised, classes at the pre-school, elementary andsecondary levels, in the affected area, shall be automatically cancelled or suspended,

When Signal No. 3 or higher is raised, classes at pre-school, elementary,secondary, and tertiary levels, in the affected area, including graduate school, as well as work in all government offices, shall be automatically cancelled or suspended.

Local government units (LGUs) are, however, authorized to cancel classes when they are deemed appropriate in times of storms, especially in areas which are not placed under a storm signal, yet classes and work are not possible due to inundation or damages.